[Shinjo City, Yamagata Prefecture] Shinjo Festival, an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, said to be the largest parade of floats in Japan

"Shinjo Festival" is a summer festival held for three days from August 24th to 26th every year in Shinjo City, a former castle town in northern Yamagata Prefecture.More than 500,000 tourists visit the festival, where gorgeous floats cruise through the city and are said to be "Japan's largest float procession."

A festival started by the lord of Shinjo to encourage his people.

The ``Shinjo Festival'' was held in 1756 (6th year of Horeki) in the middle of the Edo period, when Masanobu Tozawa, the 5th lord of the Shinjo domain, tried to cheer up the people who were suffering from severe crop failure caused by cold weather. It is said that the origin was when a festival was held throughout the territory.The festival at that time was not as large-scale as it is today, but was based on the festival of Tenmangu Shrine, the guardian deity of the Tozawa family, and the festival floats were decorated with items from private houses.

20 gorgeous floats cruise around the city

It was in the Showa era that the Shinjo Festival became what it is today, during which 20 floats and mikoshi (portable shrines) are paraded, along with 200 people dressed as samurai and priests. A historical picture scroll reminiscent of the feudal era, including the elegant Hagino Shishi Odori dance and Nitayama Shishi Odori dance performed at Mogami Park on the site of Shinjo Castle. will unfold one after another. During the festival period, festival music echoes throughout the city.

The Shinjo Festival is registered as a nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property and a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage as a Mountain, Hoko, and Yatai Festival.

"Shinjo Festival" schedule

August 24th “Evening Festival”

The "Shinjo Festival" will begin at 8:30 a.m. on the 24th with the dedication of Shinjo music at Tozawa Shrine, Gokoku Shrine, and Tenmangu Shrine (Tenman Shrine) located within Shinjo Castle Ruins Mogami Park.After that, the regular festival at Tozawa Shrine is held from around 10 o'clock, and the evening festival begins at 6 o'clock in the evening with the lighting ceremony.

At 7 p.m., the floats stored in each town begin to move, pulled by children. Even during the day, the gorgeous floats are illuminated, making them even more gorgeous. The fantastic floats created by the interweaving of light and shadow are a sight to behold. The festival floats that have cruised around the city finally gather at the Shinjo Station Square and the evening festival ends.

August 25th [Main Festival]

The main festival begins at around 9 a.m. on the 25th with the ritual of transferring the object of worship to a mikoshi at Tenmangu Shrine.Afterwards, a parade of mikoshi (portable shrines) departs from the shrine, with around 200 parishioners dressed in the costumes of samurai, foot soldiers, and priests gathered at Tozawa Shrine. There are plenty of things to see, such as the unique gait of the foot soldiers and the acrobatics performed during the procession. The float procession begins one hour after the procession leaves.

August 26th [After Festival]

In the afternoon, all 20 floats will gather in the city center for a display of decorative floats, and the Shishi Odori dance will be performed throughout the city at Minamihonmachi Crossroads.

A hand-tightening ceremony will be held at around 5pm, marking the end of the Shinjo Festival.

Each town decides on a theme and the floats are decorated by the citizens.

There are 20 floats, the star of the Shinjo Festival.However, each town has an organization called Wakaren, and each town makes one trolley. The themes of the decorations include historical stories, legends, Noh, and Kabuki, and it is common to center around life-sized dolls and surround them with landscapes, buildings, flowers, waterfalls, etc. At the Aomori Nebuta Festival, professionals called ``Nebuta-shi'' are involved in making the floats, but at the Shinjo Festival, they gather after their own work and spend about a month decorating the floats.

Mogami Park (Shinjo Castle Ruins), the base of the Shinjo Festival

Mogami Park is a park built on the site of Shinjo Castle, which was built in 1625 by Masamori Tozawa, the first lord of the Shinjo domain, and where Tozawa Shrine, Tenma Shrine, and Gokoku Shrine are enshrined. I am.

Shinjo Castle's castle tower was destroyed in a fire in 1636 and was never rebuilt. The Tozawa clan lived in this area for 243 years until the Meiji era, but it was completely destroyed in the Boshin War that broke out in the early Meiji era.

There are none left now.

The guardian deity of the Tozawa family, the lord of Shinjo domain [Tenma Shrine]

Tenma Shrine is a shrine that has been worshiped as the guardian deity of the Tozawa clan for generations. The building was built in 1628 by the first lord, Masamori, and is said to have been rebuilt in 1668 by the second lord, Masanobu. The main hall and worship hall of Tenma Shrine are designated tangible cultural properties by Yamagata Prefecture.

Honoring the achievements of the Tozawa family [Tozawa Shrine]

Tozawa Shrine was built in 1894 (Meiji 27) and enshrines the founder of the Tozawa family, Hiramori, the founder of the domain, Masamori, and the last lord of the domain, Masazane, the 11th. During the Boshin War, the Tozawa clan, which belonged to the new government army, was attacked and fell to the Shonai clan, which was part of the former shogunate army. After the old shogunate army was subdued by the new government army, Masazane was appointed governor of Shinjo Prefecture.

Memorializing the war dead since the Boshin War [Gokoku Shrine]

Gokoku Shrine was founded by Masami Tozawa in 1869 (Meiji 2) as a shrine to commemorate the dead of the Boshin War. In 1891 (Meiji 24), it was moved to the Shinjo Castle ruins where it remains today.

Hagino Shishi Odori and Nitayama Shishi Odori are essential to the Shinjo Festival

It is a folk performing art that has been passed down from ancient times in the villages of Ogino and Nitayama in Shinjo City, and its origins are not known in detail. However, it seems that there were deer dances in places other than Ogino and Nitayama, and there is a record that Yoshimitsu Mogami gathered the deer dancers from all over his territory and made them dance. There is also a record that Yoshimitsu saw what appeared to be Ogino's Kanko Odori dance and said it was the best, so it is estimated that it has been around for at least 360 years.

Shikako-odori is a dance performed by wearing a headgear in the shape of a deer's head (kashira) and cloth draped over the body. Shikako-odori dances with various headgear and choreography remain throughout the country. I am. The Shikako Odori dance performed at the Shinjo Festival uses a headgear that resembles an antelope. This is a very rare Kanko dance even in Japan. Hagino Shishi Odori and Nitayama Shishi Odori are designated as Yamagata Prefecture Intangible Folk Cultural Properties.

INFORMATON

• Shinjo Festival
• Location: Shinjo City, Yamagata Prefecture
• Phone number: 0233-22-6855 (Shinjo Festival Executive Committee)
• Dates: August 24th, 25th, 26th
• Access: Car/About 5 minutes from Shinjo IC on the Tohoku Chuo Expressway Train/Get off at Yamagata Shinkansen Shinjo Station *We recommend using public transportation on the day of the Shinjo Festival
• URL: Shinjo Festival

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